Letters to the Editor for September 30, 2017

Intersection eyesore

To the Editor:

We drive past the new cancer center building several times per week.

I agree with David Morgan with the letter published Sept. 27. I sincerely hope that the City Council will take a long look at what they have allowed to happen and consider whether it can be rectified. In particular, spending $1,624,000 to purchase just the minimart at Greenley and Mono Way, while allowing the unsightly car wash and denuded gas canopy to remain as a part of the Cancer Center parking lot is a travesty.

I can only imagine what the Adventist Hospital, our major employer in the county, and then the family who donated the funds for the Cancer Center must think about that negotiation. The building is an architectural delight and will be tarnished by the “invader” on the property.

Please, council, find a way to purchase the remaining private business and create a clean look to the center. There would be a huge sigh of relief from everyone, I am sure.

Fritz Maurer

Twain Harte

What is our goal here?

To the Editor:

When our environment (as we know it) is destroyed by the leadership of two mad men, will we then sit down and wonder how and why things got so far out of hand? One American and one North Korean, these two are mirror images of each other. Both are arrogant, self-serving, ego-maniacal bullies who are more impressed with the sound and fury of their own voices instead of the good of their people and the nations that they represent. The rest of the world is amused by their adolescent shouting but also shudders in fear for its potentially destructive outcomes.

Power plays and nuclear posturing cannot compare with cool-headed communications, patience and better understanding when it comes to these sensitive international situations. Is there no room at the top for any peaceful negotiations without their childish “push-and-shove” antics? Unfortunately, we Americans have been placed again in the direct path of war, and I sincerely question why. Why are we put in harm’s way, and what good will we accomplish by achieving our goal? And by the way, what is our goal here?

Douglas K. Lau

Sonora

Bernie Sanders

To the Editor:

I’m reluctant to raise more friction than already exists between Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party. Still, it’s time to call him out for his ideological purity and for blaming the Democratic Party for losing the election. He’s developed a cult following whose rude antics were an embarrassment at the Democratic Convention.

He deserves credit for getting people involved who had previously paid little attention to politics. He also moved the Democratic Party a little more to the left. He has some good suggestions such as pushing for single-payer health insurance, which is also supported by many Democrats. Still, he ran a divisive campaign and gave a half-hearted endorsement to Hillary Clinton after she won the nomination. Twelve percent of his supporters voted for Donald Trump. He’s an idea man with pie-in-the-sky concepts and no follow-up. The Democratic Party represents people of all walks of life and opinions that range from centrist to left and should focus on solutions and winning elections over ideology.

Would I have voted for Sanders if he had won the nomination? Absolutely. Do you get the point?